Transcriptome profiling provides insights into the molecular mechanism of maize kernel and silk development

KA105, a superior female inbred line of two nationally approved commercial hybrids (SD650:No.20200261; SD620:No.20200264), was selected from the Shaan A group cultivated by Northwest A&F University. The plants were cultivated at approximately 67,500 plants/ha in summer in Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China. Field experiments were carried out under normal filed management without water or nutrient stress. The ears were bagged with Kraft paper bags before silking. After silking, several plants were manually self-pollinated, and others were left bagged. Two biological replications of self-pollinated and unpollinated ears were harvested 20 days after pollination (20 DAP). The different samples examined were referred to as self-pollinated kernels (KSP), unpollinated kernels (KUP), self-pollinated silks (SSP) and unpollinated silks (SUP).